Facts

Saturday

Makeover for Humphries?Sophomore Adam Humphries recorded his first Clemson touchdown with a diving 13-yard catch in the first quarter of Saturday's win over Maryland. Coach Dabo Swinney said Sunday night the Dorman product should have already scored a few more and joked he might don a disguise to aid in that effort.“That was a highlight reel catch, but the funny thing about it is he really should've had two other touchdowns this year and people don't know that. We had two calls where we bring him in motion and were supposed to pitch the ball to him, kind of a little shovel, and both were wide-open walk-in touchdowns down in the red zone and we had mess-ups on both of them.“But it was fun to see him score a touchdown because we harass him all the time that he needs to get one of those wigs of dreads because the guys with the dreads get all the touchdowns. He was kind of threatening to go get a wig and put it under his helmet and maybe they'd pitch it to him. We've had fun with him because as many big plays as he's made he hadn't had a chance to get in that end zone yet.”Of course the dreadlocked touchdown-makers Swinney was referring to wreceivers Sammy Watkins and DeAndre Hopkins and tailback Andre Ellington.-- Eric Boynton/staff

Viewing film of last season's trip to Raleigh when the Wolfpack spanked the seventh-ranked Tigers 37-13 ought to be plenty of motivation to avoid complacency as should State being the lone team to knock off Florida State this year.

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney laughed a tad uneasily when recalling last season's debacle during his weekly Sunday evening teleconference, but acknowledged the revenge card is one he'll keep stashed in the deck. Clemson turned it over four times last year and trailed 27-3 at halftime to snap the Tigers' seven-game winning streak in the series.

“There's no doubt they embarrassed us on national TV,” Swinney said. “They are capable of beating anybody. That's the only loss that Florida State has. It's a team that's very dangerous. This is a big challenge and again we're coming off a performance against these guys last year that was very poor.

“Momentum and energy, they just took the game over and we couldn't turn it. That was last year and it has nothing to do with this year. That revenge stuff doesn't get you very far. It's about how you play the game and how you prepare this week. You have to execute at a high level and play with great consistency to win consistently and that's what our guys have done.”

Despite easy-goings over a depleted Maryland team, the Tigers dropped one spot in each of the two major polls down to No. 11 in the Associated Press and No. 9 by the coaches. When asked if he could remember winning a game by 35 and taking a dip in the rankings, Swinney said there are a lot of firsts he can remember under his brief tenure.

“I haven't been coaching that long so I'm experiencing a lot of first things. All I know is we've got 13 days left and if we take care of business we'll have a chance to be top 10 in every poll and that's when it's going to really matter. There is a lot of ball to be played these next couple weeks and our team is doing everything they can to focus on what we can control. I don't expect any drop-off.”

With N.C. State expected to finally provide some sort of elevated test for the Tigers, who have won each of their last four by no less than three touchdowns, Swinney isn't worried about how his guys will react if forced to finally perform in crunch time.

“They've done a good job of playing solid winning football and continue to play at a high level regardless of the venue, the time, the opponent or whatever and that's all you can judge them on. Our guys are fully prepared to play 60 minutes or however long it takes to finish.”

<p>Clemson's 45-10 Saturday victory over Maryland was another typical yawner for the Tigers who won't require much of a wakeup call to be fully prepared to host North Carolina State this week.</p><p>Viewing film of last season's trip to Raleigh when the Wolfpack spanked the seventh-ranked Tigers 37-13 ought to be plenty of motivation to avoid complacency as should State being the lone team to knock off Florida State this year.</p><p>Clemson coach Dabo Swinney laughed a tad uneasily when recalling last season's debacle during his weekly Sunday evening teleconference, but acknowledged the revenge card is one he'll keep stashed in the deck. Clemson turned it over four times last year and trailed 27-3 at halftime to snap the Tigers' seven-game winning streak in the series.</p><p>“There's no doubt they embarrassed us on national TV,” Swinney said. “They are capable of beating anybody. That's the only loss that Florida State has. It's a team that's very dangerous. This is a big challenge and again we're coming off a performance against these guys last year that was very poor.</p><p>“Momentum and energy, they just took the game over and we couldn't turn it. That was last year and it has nothing to do with this year. That revenge stuff doesn't get you very far. It's about how you play the game and how you prepare this week. You have to execute at a high level and play with great consistency to win consistently and that's what our guys have done.”</p><p>Despite easy-goings over a depleted Maryland team, the Tigers dropped one spot in each of the two major polls down to No. 11 in the Associated Press and No. 9 by the coaches. When asked if he could remember winning a game by 35 and taking a dip in the rankings, Swinney said there are a lot of firsts he can remember under his brief tenure.</p><p>“I haven't been coaching that long so I'm experiencing a lot of first things. All I know is we've got 13 days left and if we take care of business we'll have a chance to be top 10 in every poll and that's when it's going to really matter. There is a lot of ball to be played these next couple weeks and our team is doing everything they can to focus on what we can control. I don't expect any drop-off.”</p><p>With N.C. State expected to finally provide some sort of elevated test for the Tigers, who have won each of their last four by no less than three touchdowns, Swinney isn't worried about how his guys will react if forced to finally perform in crunch time.</p><p>“They've done a good job of playing solid winning football and continue to play at a high level regardless of the venue, the time, the opponent or whatever and that's all you can judge them on. Our guys are fully prepared to play 60 minutes or however long it takes to finish.”</p><p><b>Injury update:</b> Swinney said tailbacks D.J. Howard (twisted ankle) and Roderick McDowell (sprained toe) were banged up, but didn't expect anybody to miss practice time.</p>